It was a real pleasure to be hosting Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s table at the inaugural Energy North awards on Thursday 29th September, not least due to the very pleasant company of our guests – you know who you are! The event really showcased the talent, expertise and leading business capabilities of our region and further served to illustrate the exciting energy opportunities this region offers our people, businesses and economy. Our congratulations go to all the deserving award winners and indeed to all those shortlisted. For the details of the winners visit the Energy North website.

I was particularly struck by the fact that these awards celebrated success across the energy industry, with many of the categories equally relevant to oil and gas and to the renewables sector e.g “Best Subsea Service”, “Best Service Supply”, “Best Export”, “Best Pioneer” and finally the HIE-sponsored Ambassador Award. It is often cited that there is competition between these sectors, but these awards clearly demonstrated that there is already substantial evidence of the two sectors complementing each other and combining to make even more competitive businesses in the Highlands and Islands. We must ensure that such synergy continues to grow as we capitalise upon the projected continued growth in oil and gas activity, and on Scotland’s ambitious renewable energy targets – in both of which this area has considerable competitive and comparative advantage.

Finally, I’d like to congratulate the Energy North team for pulling these successful awards together, and providing an excellent platform for the promotion of the region’s rich energy assets. Good luck to them and the entrants of the 2012 Energy North Awards.